CATSKILL, N.Y. -- These days guns are at the center of a major debate.

But one model that was invented, patented and produced in Catskill and was popular in the years following the Civil War was called "My Friend."

Today, Irish immigrant James Reid's "Knuckleduster" or what he called "My Friend" in his catalogs, is the stuff of collectors' dreams.

"They were the ideal size for a lady -- or a gambler -- to conceal up his sleeve, along with those extra cards," said Robert Carl of Catskill, who has had an interest in the Knuckleduster since his youth.

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Carl, a former town justice, credited his sixth-grade teacher, Iona Marsters, for his early interest in the Knuckleduster.

"She lived across the street from the Reid homestead in Catskill," Carl said. "We local boys, at about 10 or 11, used to dig through the ruins there."

Reid was born in Belfast in 1827 and started his apprenticeship as a gunmaker there. He moved later to Glasgow, Scotland, where he lived until the age of 30. Attracted like many others by the promises of America, he immigrated in 1857 and settled in New York City with his family.

Reid started his own business in New York, about which little is known, but it's believed he was a gunmaker, Carl said. Due to illness in his family, Reid moved his family and his factory to Catskill in 1865.

"Reid first opened a gristmill on the site at Catskill Creek that he then operated simultaneously with manufacturing guns," Carl said. Reid operated the gristmill from 1865 to 1868.

In 1861, while still in New York, Reid issued his first .22-caliber revolver and not long after issued the same model in .32-caliber. Gun historians believe Reid issued a small derringer pistol in the same period.

Carl said that before leaving New York in 1865 Reid had already produced a few prototypes of his famous "Knuckleduster" pepperbox, for which he obtained a patent in 1865.

The pepperbox (also called "pepper-pot" for its resemblance to a pepper grinder) is a multiple-barrel repeating firearm that has three or more barrels grouped around a central axis.

Carl said Reid resumed his gunmaking activity in Catskill, manufacturing the small pocket firearm, which soon became successful enough to provide employment to 12 people.

In the years following the Civil War, the demand for a concealable weapon drove sales of the Knuckleduster.

"Its size made it attractive because it was easy to conceal, especially among people who wanted personal protection, but didn't want to carry a heavy revolver," Carl said. It was designed for close-range firing.

"The pocket guns were single-action, with a revolving chamber," he said.

Carl said Reid manufactured "My Friend" in three calibers: .22, .32 and .41. Some were five-shot, some seven-shot. He said the seven-shot version was equipped with a safety feature.

However, gun historians consider the most remarkable feature of Reid's Knuckleduster to be the shape of the grip. Reid wanted to develop a pocket gun that could also be used as a set of knuckles for hand fighting, the result being a unique, bulbous shape with the central ring hole in the middle of the grip.

The pocket arm is made of brass, with steel barrel and hammer, although a few all-steel versions were manufactured in 1880.

Carl said the grip was handsomely engraved by Reid's son, James Jr., after the gun was made. The words, "My Friend" are engraved prominently under the barrel in almost every version.

Carl said "Knuckleduster" is a 20th century collector's term. He said Reid, in his catalogues, referred to the pocket arm as the "knuckler" or more often "My Friend." He said the origin of the latter has not been determined, but collectors speculate it had something to do with its size and dependability.

"The gun is very compact and can easily be hidden in a vest pocket or ladies purse," Carl said, although one source referenced the latter as ladies of the night -- or more directly as whores.

Carl said the pocket weapon was enormously successful and popular, with about 18,000 manufactured from about 1868 to 1883, with close to 15,000 made in Catskill.

At its production peak, Reid employed about 17 workers, many of them family members, like his son, his nephew, James, and Robert Patterson, his father-in-law.

"It was definitely a family business," Carl said, noting that Reid was in business for almost 30 years.

"The guns were made in Catskill, but distributed nationwide," Carl said.

Carl said, unfortunately, Reid's business suffered from two severe, successive depressions between 1873 and 1880, from which it never recovered.

"The introduction of the double-action revolver as the nation expanded West also hurt Reid's business," Carl said. He said Reid closed the business in 1883 and moved to Troy, where it's believed he worked at the Watervliet Arsenal, dying in 1898.